Middlebrooks activated; Ciriaco designated

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Will Middlebrooks was activated from the disabled list and placed back in the Red Sox starting lineup on Monday.

Tim Britton

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Will Middlebrooks was activated from the disabled list and placed back in the Red Sox starting lineup on Monday.

Middlebrooks went 5-for-17 during a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket that was designed both to make sure he was healthy and to create some positive momentum for the third baseman when he did return. He hit two home runs and drew four walks while with the PawSox.

"First and foremost, I wanted to get healthy," said Middlebrooks. "I'm healthy, I feel good, I had some good at-bats, I worked on some things, and I feel a lot better."

Middlebrooks has been out of the Red Sox lineup since May 23 with a low back strain. The downtime also helped heal the rib injury he suffered in a collision with David Ross a few weeks earlier.

He will hit eighth against Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb on Monday.

"This is the best I've felt all year," Middlebrooks said.

Middlebrooks has obviously struggled in his second season in the big leagues, entering Monday night with a .203 average and .234 on-base percentage. He's drawn just seven walks all year, compared to 54 strikeouts.

He's had stretches where he has seemed to piece things back together. He had consecutive multi-hit games against the Astros in late April, then endured a 3-for-22 stretch. He had six doubles and a homer in an eight-game stretch in mid-May, but went 2-for-19 before landing on the disabled list.

While with the PawSox, he spent time working on honing a more consistent routine and approach at the plate.

"That's really the main thing: having good focus and being consistent with that throughout a game and not just for a couple at-bats," Middlebrooks said. "Just trying to stay focused. I think I did that. I felt really good about it."

"He answered a lot of the questions, particularly physically, and the chance to get 15 at-bats to get some timing and a little rhythm going," manager John Farrell said of Middlebrooks' time with Pawtucket.

To make room for Middlebrooks, the Red Sox designated Pedro Ciriaco for assignment. Ciriaco, one of the few bright spots of the 2012 season, had not been able to carry that success into this year. He was batting just .216 with a .293 on-base percentage, and he had become more of a liability in the field. Ciriaco had already made seven errors in just 133 innings this season; he made nine in 443 defensive innings last year.

Ciriaco was designated because he's out of minor-league options. He can be claimed by any other major-league team. If he makes it through waivers, the Red Sox can outright him to Pawtucket.

"It makes it tougher when you have a guy that's a talented player with a good skillset," Farrell said. "I would think there would be a lot of interest in him. He's a good player."

The decision to DFA Ciriaco carries some risk, as it lightens Boston's infield depth if Ciriaco is claimed. The recent emergence of Brock Holt at Pawtucket, however, helps mitigate that concern.